Hindu Daily Digest - Editor's Pick: Low on oxygen

(The Editor's Pick is a new newsletter from The Hindu that provides a snapshot of the most important stories from today's edition of our newspaper, along with a note from our top editors on why we chose to give prominence to these stories.)

As India reaches worrying new highs in this second wave of the pandemic - as on April 15 the daily test positivity rate or cases identified per 100 tests was 13.4, surpassing the earlier peak of 12.5% recorded in July 2020 - there are signs that the country’s medical systems are simply unable to cope.

Shortages of essential supplies is once again a pressing concern and currently the major worry is around oxygen. The government has decided to import 50,000 tonnes of medical oxygen apart from setting up oxygen plants for 100 new hospitals, to be financed from the PM-CARES fund. And as states have raised concerns about serious shortages, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Friday informed Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh that their demand for 10 litre and 45 litre jumbo oxygen cylinders and additional ventilators will be met very soon. The Health Secretary also said there shall be free movement of vehicles carrying oxygen without any time limit or inter-city restriction.

Both Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh are reporting a very high number of new cases and deaths with trends in the former particularly concerning. In the last two weeks, the State has seen almost 131% increase in weekly new cases, the Ministry said.

The Centre has also identified 12 high burden states — Maharashtra, MP, Gujarat, UP, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan — where demand for oxygen is not being met. Multiple states are also reporting shortages of vaccines, testing kits, hospital beds, ICUs and crematoria. The Prime Minister today has called for the curtailment of the Kumbh Mela as the situation grows more dire. The worry is that the damage may already have been done. That marks this story out as our top pick of the day.

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